The Dying of the Light characters

Appears from the start

The skeleton detective leading the effort to recover Valkyrie and stop Darquesse. He is an Elemental, a former Dead Man and the former Lord Vile, prepared to use every part of that history against a threat stronger than he is.

Appears from the start

The immensely powerful consciousness born from Valkyrie's true name. Valkyrie surrendered control to her to stop Charivari's warlocks, and Darquesse kept the body. She is now the catastrophe foreseen by the Sensitives and regards the world's attempts to oppose her as a challenge.

Appears from the start

Skulduggery's partner, trapped within Darquesse after deliberately yielding control of her body. Her allies refuse to treat her as lost, even though reaching her means confronting a separate will with command of all her unrealised magical power.

Also known as Valkyrie's Reflection

First appears in chapter 2

An independent person created from Valkyrie's old reflection. Stephanie has lived with the Edgleys, formed a relationship with Fletcher and tried to build a moral life after secretly killing Carol. She now has to decide what she owes the original person whose place she took.

First appears in chapter 3

The Teleporter helping Skulduggery's team move faster than Darquesse can anticipate. He cares for Stephanie as her own person while remaining determined to bring Valkyrie back.

First appears in chapter 3

A surviving Dead Man and an experienced fighter, grieving Ghastly and Anton while continuing the mission they died trying to protect. His loyalty to Skulduggery is strained by the scale of the risks now required.

First appears in chapter 3

A surviving Dead Man whose discipline gives him unexplained knowledge. He joins Skulduggery and Dexter in the pursuit of Darquesse, carrying the losses and betrayal that ended the old team.

First appears in chapter 5

The Symbol mage and information broker helping hold Roarhaven together after Ravel's coup and the warlock attack. The collapse of the former leadership gives her influence over whatever system replaces it.

First appears in chapter 6

The exposed architect of the Sanctuary war and murderer of Ghastly Bespoke and Anton Shudder. Darquesse has left him alive under a magical punishment, and his failed revolution offers information that his former allies may still need.

First appears in chapter 10

Valkyrie's friend, still controlled by the Remnant that has occupied her since the outbreak. She remains a superb swordswoman, and her bond with Billy-Ray Sanguine has outlasted the alliances around them.

First appears in chapter 10

A killer able to pass through solid matter and the person most devoted to Tanith in her possessed state. His usual instinct for survival is increasingly at odds with his willingness to protect her.

First appears in chapter 28

A brilliant but amoral scientist whose knowledge of souls, bodies and magical anatomy may offer a way to separate what has become entangled inside Darquesse. Cooperation never makes Doctor Nye safe or trustworthy.

First appears in chapter 42

The Nefarian Serpine of Mevolent's dimension. Still manipulative and lethal, he opposes Mevolent for reasons that can temporarily align with Skulduggery's search for a weapon capable of threatening Darquesse.

First appears in chapter 42

Ruler of the parallel world in which he won the war. His forces possess weapons and knowledge unavailable in Valkyrie's reality, making entry into his domain both necessary and exceptionally dangerous.

First appears in chapter 42

The alternate Skulduggery who remained Lord Vile and serves Mevolent. His Necromancy makes him one of the few beings able to meet the Lord Vile hidden within Skulduggery on equal terms.

First appears in chapter 68

Valkyrie's young sister and the most vulnerable member of the Edgley family. She knows nothing of the magical identities and rivalries that make her a potential target.